


Stabilization

by AnnaOkegom



Series: Elementals [1]
Category: Original Work, Steven Universe OCs RP
Genre: Dark, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fear of Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Panic Attacks, Threats of Violence, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-24 18:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22002271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOkegom/pseuds/AnnaOkegom
Summary: After Petalite is forcefully taken out of her old life, she has to adjust to her new life and all its consequences. Even if it is not exactly pleasing, it's all she has left.
Series: Elementals [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613929
Kudos: 3





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AbsoluteSpoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsoluteSpoon/gifts).



> It's finally out!!! Like I told you, it was too long so I decided to split it into 3 chapters.  
> Here we'll learn a looot more about the Elementals, and of coruse, about our smol baby Petalite :3  
> I'll let you read now!

Everything was normal. The sounds of metal banging, wires being torn and pieces being heated and attached together were all that Petalite had seen, every day, for many years since she was created. It was all she knew and all she could wish for; what else was there, anyway? Differently from some other Gems (and she had only ever heard about them, she did not associate with _that_ type), she preferred to live in the safety that was Homeworld's system than create a ruckus only to fail later. Pathetic.

Despite everything, she had always had a feeling inside of her that she deserved better. Better than being just another Petalite among hundreds, and being stuck on that same colony doing simple jobs like what she did every day. The other Petalites were what she could only describe as undignified and primitive, and she was yet to see one whose intellect matched hers. If only she could actually contact a superior and prove all her potential, what could she reach? High status, respect, admiration, a better rank... she knew that the Diamonds would deem her as a valuable ally to have around. Perhaps she would even be allowed to live in the palace, and give orders too!

"Hey, you! If you're going to stand still doing nothing, go do that somewhere else other than in my way!" another Petalite exclaimed from behind her, then quickly shoved her to the side and walked away.

Petalite stared down, at the equipment that had fallen from her hands to the ground, and glared at her comrade as she walked away. _That_ kind of thing was exactly what she was talking about; all these others were too absorbed on their own head to actually realize how stupid they actually were. But honestly, Petalite did not blame them; there would be no intelligent people without dumb people like them. She did not blame them, but that didn't stop her from despising them.

"Stupid pebble," she murmured, crouching down to pick up everything.

After getting what she needed, Petalite walked over to one of the many tables spread around the place and dropped everything over it. However, before she could even start examining the pieces, a loud noise broke out; turning around, she was met with the other Petalites staring dumbfounded at the sky, some even having dropped the items they were carrying. Looking up, Petalite took sight of a huge structure coming down towards them all, slowly. A spaceship? It couldn't be anything from Homeworld, they would have taken the warp pad. 

"What in the universe is that?" Petalite asked, walking away from the table, to where most of the others were.

"Oh... my... stars..." the one next to her whispered, clutching her face with her hands and staring cross eyed at the thing. "What's happening?! What's going to happen to us?!"

"Everyone, everyone, stay calm! No need to be afraid, it'll only make everything worse!" another Petalite, their Commander, yelled, jumping and raising her arms up on the air. "If any trouble starts, we can just request aid! And plus, we have a warp pad in case of any emergencies! So, let's not panic, and let's examine the situation first!"

The announcement didn't help as much, and soon there were Petalites screaming and crying about the end of the colony. As nervous as she felt, on the verge of a panic attack, Petalite managed to keep a calm facade, for whatever reason. She just felt that if she panicked, it would all feel worse.

The ship finally landed after seconds that felt like years, and then all of a sudden, all the Gems froze and silence reigned among them. Dust rose, temporarily blinding them, but they could still make out two figures getting out of the open door of the ship. Petalites were naturally small, and so, both figures were much taller than them, but one of them was a giant even if compared to a regular-sized Gem. Only after the vision was clear once again, the Petalites were able to make out the features of the two invaders.

"W-w-who a-are y-you and w-what are you d-doing h-here?!" the Commander yelled, her own body trembling.

"I guess something like this is what you'd expect from a colony full of Petalites," said the bulkier one, Chromite, ignoring the questions while looking around her. 

"Don't forget your assignment. Focus." said the other Gem, Albite, blankly scanning all of them with her eyes. "Poof and bubble as many as you can, and send them back to the mother ship."

"Petalites... _RETREAT_!!!" the Commander shrieked in fear, and all the Petalites started running towards the warp pad at once.

"Ooh, I'm not going to let my prey escape so fast!" Chromite replied with a wicked smile on her face, summoning a double axe and throwing it on the warp pad, instantly breaking it.

The Commander stopped on her tracks and turned around, pure terror spread on her entire face.

"Th-they... they destroyed the warp pad!" she exclaimed, sweat falling from her face in large drops.

"And that's a preview of what I'm going to do to each one of you soon," Chromite said, seizing the cable of her weapon.

That was enough for chaos to spread around all of them. That same second, all the Gems started running in all directions, screaming and crying and begging, and Petalite could barely think straight with everything that was going on around her. All she could do was run, try to look for some place to hide and organize everything she needed to save herself; among all the confusion, she took sight of a boulder standing against a rock mountain and pushed her way towards it. There was a small space between the boulder and the wall, just enough for her to crawl into it, so she didn't even think and jumped into it. There were already many Petalites on that same spot, but there was still enough space for her.

After some time, she wasn't sure how much, everything became silent. It scared Petalite, the anticipation. She expected them to find them out at any moment now, and for every second they didn't, she was both grateful and terrified of the next one to come, and it was a vicious spiral. Was she having a panic attack? She wasn't sure. She looked around herself at the other Petalites, trying to get distracted. One of them was biting her own fingers in distress, another one was crying silently, being hugged by another who was whispering something to her; the Commander was there two, sitting down and glaring at the ground, with another Petalite by her side.

"We can't just sit here doing nothing. They won't leave any soon." said the Gem sitting next to the Commander.

"It's the best choice of action currently, so it's what we'll do. Stay safe until aid arrives." replied the Commander.

"But that makes no sense! How is aid going to come? They can't know what's going on here, and even if they did, the warp pad is broken and it'd take them a long time to arrive!"

"Way better than running out and getting ourselves killed or worse!"

Petalite peeked out. The two Gems were still patrolling the place, looking for more Petalites. Albite summoned her own weapon, a spear.

"Oh, no need for that, really," Chromite said, snickering. "Those Petalite Gems are made to be only annoying noisy brats. They can't fight to save their own lives."

At that exact moment, a Petalite ran away from her hiding spot, running towards them and screaming; her only weapon was a simple tool, and tears flew from her eyes as she ran. But just as she approached the two, Chromite re-summoned her double axe and hit the Petalite on the face, knocking her back and making her drop the weapon. As she hit the floor with a loud thud sound, her physical form dissipated, leaving only shattered shards behind.

"We weren't supposed to shatter them!" Albite told Chromite, glaring at her. "The mission was clear: poof and bubble them, so we can use their gemstones later! How do you expect us to power anything with _shards_?!"

Petalite froze, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Was this what her life was going to be reduced to? A power source? No, she deserved much more! She was supposed to have power, not be used as an object! Her existence wasn't going to go to waste, she wouldn't let it... but what could she do?

"Hey, calm down. Shattering a few is alright, we got much more. I'd say that with how many there are here, we'll fill the whole jail... so there's no need to get so worried." Chromite replied.

"...Was that accidental?"

Chromite stared at the gem shards in front of her.

"Not really. I just got really annoyed by that punk trying to challenge me, and I remembered how much I could hurt her... so I just did. You know she deserved it. It was satisfying."

Albite didn't reply, and two other petalites ran towards the both of them, one from each side. Before they could begin to attack, Chromite seized one by the neck with one hand, and Albite grabbed the other one by the chest with her two hands. The Petalites groaned and screamed, extending their short limbs in pointless hopes to punch or kick the intruders. Soon after they were poofed, their gems bubbled and sent to somewhere else.

"See? They're totally harmless... too weak to do anything." Chromite said. "We just need to find out where are the other ones and it'll be over."

Petalite recoiled back into the hideout, out of view. Her body felt numb, and she wasn't even sure how she managed to still hear what the others were saying around her.

"I'm... I'm so scared..." the petalite who was crying choked out among sobs, burying her head on her partner's chest. "This can't be happening... why is this happening to us? I don't want this... I'm just so scared... I don't want to die..." Whatever words she said after that were muffled.

"Come on... I'm telling you, if we stay here, they're going to find us and we won't be able to do anything!" the Petalite near the Commander said, annoyed. The Commander turned towards her with a glare.

"Well, didn't you see what they just did? They're way stronger! Petalites weren't made to fight! We'll just end up dying faster!"

"Yeah, if we just stay like this, we definitely will! That's why we have to get stronger... we'll need to fuse together, all of us."

It was a nightmare, Petalite concluded. Everything about it.

"Are you insane?!" the Commander screeched, trying to keep her voice low. "We aren't allowed to fuse, and you know that! What's with that idea?"

"We can't, but this is a critical situation, a real emergency! We can't contact aid and we can't escape, so we need to fight! And the only way we can win is if we put all our strength together!"

"I'm your Commander, and I say no! That's my final answer, and you'll obey!"

"Ooh, what a great Commander that you are! Leading the whole group to death! I appreciate it a lot, thank you."

"That's enough! Facet 2K4E Cut 6XN, you're getting out of line! After this is all over, I'll personally contact your superiors about this!"

"After this is all over, with your plan... ha. Can't contact them if you're dead."

The quarrel kept getting louder and louder with each response. Petalite just wanted them to shut up, her head felt as if it were going to explode right then and there. The two Petalites started to fight physically, slapping each other and hitting each other on the eyes (it wasn't that uncommon for that to happen) and groaning, making lots of noise. The rebellious Petalite then pushed the Commander down, and alongside the thud, she let out a surprised "Ow!".

"There, I've just dethroned you! I'm the Commander now! Hahaha!" she said while letting out guffaws of pleasure.

"Oh, you little...!" 

Getting up from the ground, the (ex?)Commander grabbed the other Petalite's uniform and began shaking her rapidly; the other didn't wait too long before starting to retaliate, this time by pushing her hand against the Commander's face and cheek, obscuring her view. She blindly threw a punch, hitting the other.

"My protection glasses!" she screamed, taking out her now-cracked transparent glasses. 

"Hahahaha! You're done for, you can't even work now! You're useless, and you're going to be sha--"

Before the sentence could be finished, a loud noise erupted on the hideout, as the boulder keeping them from view was lifted easily. All the Petalites looked up to see Chromite gazing at them with a sadistic smile, before throwing the rock behind her shoulder. Petalite cowered and recoiled.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here..." Chromite said, eyeing each one of the terrified smaller Gems. "It'd have been way better for you all if you had simply surrendered. Cowardice and weakness disgust me, and that's exactly what I'm seeing right now."

"I... I-I..." the previously bold Petalite stammered, her entire body shaking until her hands were too weak to even keep hold of her glasses.

"It's... it's not cowardice! It's just intelligence, something that you're way too dumb to understand, STUPID!" the Commander screaming, stepping in front of her comrade.

Chromite stayed stunned for one second before finally processing the insult that had just been delivered to her, and, if glares could kill, only their shards would have remained at the spot. Just one second later, all the Petalites were running away in different directions and screaming while being chased by the two Elementals. Petalite wasn't even sure why she was running; there was literally no place to escape to, and running would be just postponing the inevitable. In fact, from what the enemy had just said, it'd make everything worse! But still, she could not stop herself from running.

Suddenly two large and strong hands seized her petite body, almost poofing her on the spot. The first thing she did was struggle, wiggling her limbs in all directions in an attempt to hit her captor at least once and failing.

"You let go of me right now, you brute stupid disgraceful unbefit--"

And then, only her gemstone remained.

* * *

"--ting traitorous ridiculous obtuse IDIOT!"

Petalite continued to try and throw punches and kicks on the air, but suddenly lost her balance and fell to the ground. Had she succeeded? Had she escaped? It was her chance to run away and hide! She didn't even bother trying to get up, she just started running forwards on all fours until she collided against something solid and fell back down. 

"Ow, ow, ow..." she moaned, holding her head and sitting. And looking up, she saw Chromite's grinning face, sending her back. "Wah! What are you doing here?!"

Petalite looked around her and let out the loudest gasp she had ever produced on her entire life. She was surrounded by bubbles, they were everywhere, but most predominantly on the roof of the huge room they were in. Huge room? How did she get there? _Where_ even was _there_?

"Oh my stars..." she said quietly, examining the bubbles. Some of them harbored Petalites' gems, like her own, but most of them were occupied by gemstones she didn't recognize. "This isn't my colony... where am I? What's happening?!"

"I assume you remember who I am, little Petalite." Chromite spoke up. "The name's Chromite. Glad to have a proper meeting with you. Well, not really, I lied. Meeting you is just like meeting any other Petalite... you're all conceited melodramatic little brats with high-pitched voices. Have I already mentioned how annoying I think Petalites are?"

The look on her face and the tone of her voice made Petalite gulp. She needed to think of something to get her out of that situation, fast! 

"I'd advise you not to treat me badly. Surely my superiors were already informed by the wreck you did on my colony, and they must be searching for my whereabouts right now as we speak." she spoke with the calmest voice and coldest stare she could pull at that situation. "And since they possess high-quality efficient technology, which was made by me by the way, they will track me down soon enough. And when they do, you'll be in... a lot of trouble."

Chromite burst into laughter as soon as she finished speaking. Petalite frowned. What was so funny?

"You must be either crazy or too desperate to even dare say something like that!" she spat out, sending a wave of fear through Petalite's body. "You are hilarious, I'll have to give you that, I guess. I'll probably miss you and your jokes when you're gone... but not too much. If I'm the one to kill you, I'll probably feel the closest thing of guilt I've ever felt for my entire life."

"But I'm not joking! I demand to know what is happening right now!" Petalite shrieked, getting up and accidentally bumping into a bubbled gem. 

"Alright, alright. I guess it's fine to tell you what's gonna happen." Chromite snickered. "You're at the base of the Elementals. We're a group of scientists that has been travelling around the space for thousands of years to store as much knowledge as possible. We use everything we know to create many kinds of gadgets, which are all powered by gemstones."

Everything suddenly made sense. Petalite looked around her once again; so all these bubbled Gems were going to be used as power sources? Was _she_ going to suffer the same fate? If she had knew something like this would happen, she would have never complained about staying in the colony! She would go back and gladly be a conformed slave in a heartbeat if she could now.

"Hey, don't make that look... you're making even me feel bad." Chromite said, sarcasm clear on her voice. "Not everything is lost. At least, if you're competent. We can even make you a member of our group if you're worthy. But looking at you, I wouldn't have too much hope. Come on now."

Petalite fearfully obeyed, and followed Chromite out of the room and throughout the spaceship. It was a humongous place, with lots of corridors and many other Gems of all kinds. Eventually they arrived on a room with a tight corridor and lots of cells full of Gems, mainly the Petalites from the colony, on both sides; the two of them stopped in front of an empty cell and Chromite placed her hand on a detector, making the tinted glass door in front retreat upwards, opening the cell.

"Go on inside. Someone will come to get you later. Probably."

She flinched in hesitation, but walked inside the cell. The walls, ceiling and floor were all plain white, and there was nothing inside. Such bad taste. Then Chromite stepped away from the detector, making the glass come down again, trapping Petalite inside. Without saying anything else, she left, leaving Petalite alone with her thoughts. She lied down on the cold floor, facing away from the glass and onto the blank wall. So they were kidnapping Gems to use them as power sources for their weapons? But if she proved herself valuable, they could let her be free and alive? 

What if she failed? No, failing was out of question. She couldn't fail. She deserved better. Better than anything that had ever been offered to her. Now, everything she needed to do was focus on proving herself as an useful ally for these "Elementals" and staying alive; she could think of her next steps after that. That was, if they even came to check on her... all she could do was wait and hope. After a long time, probably hours, Petalite finally heard a voice coming from outside.

"Excuse me." 

She jumped up and turned towards the glass, to be met with the sight of a tall and slender Gem standing there, her hands behind her back. Surely it was a Pearl, Petalite recognized it by her long beak-like nose. Finally, someone had come for her, to get her out! The constant anxiety clutching Petalite's chest turned into relief, and then the relief evolved into rage.

"Hey, you Pearl! Get me out of here right away! The waiting system of these 'Elementals' is unacceptable! Take me to your owner right now, I swear that the moment I see her, I'll tell her certain things that will make her regret everything she has ever done!" she screamed, pressing her entire body against the colored glass.

"Of course. I was just about to do that." the Pearl said with no reaction to Petalite's tantrum, which annoyed her further. She then placed her hand on the detector near the cell, opening it, and Petalite stepped out, wary of her surroundings. "Please, follow me."

Petalite followed the Pearl throughout the ship, and the two eventually ended up on a corridor which was empty save for a single door on the middle, and the Pearl started opening the door. Excitement filled Petalite's body; in only a few seconds, she would be able to voice all her complaints and feelings, she would set her anger free! Without even waiting, she entered the room, and then froze on the spot. That room had a much colder and more ominous atmosphere than the rest of the ship; dispirited, Petalite cringed, noticing another Gem already present. She was one of the only things in the room, alongside a long plain white table and two chairs on both its sides, one of which was being occupied by the Gem. Just like the cell, everything was white...

"I appreciate you bring her here. You may go now, Pearl, that will be all." the Gem said before clapping twice, and the Pearl bowed and left the room. She then turned to Petalite, and her stare made the Gem gulp. "You can approach me. There's no need to be scared."

Hesitantly, Petalite walked forwards and sat on the chair in front of her (it was too tall, she had to climb it). She felt a crushing pressure above her, forcing her to hunch down and stare at her feet kicking back and forth, as though that was the most interesting thing in the universe. But she didn't dare look up and meet that Gem's gaze again.

"Well, you can start speaking. Let's not wait this long." the Gem said calmly.

"Oh, I... u-um, I don't h-have anything to say." Petalite choked out, her voice tinier than ever.

"No? That's a surprise. Back at the prison you claimed you would say something that would make me regret everything I have ever done... something about our systems being inadequate."

Petalite felt sweat creeping on her back. She had just ruined everything.

"H-hahaha... that was just a bluff..." she stammered, laughing out of nervousness. "I-I'm sorry... please, don't kill me or use me as a power source... please, I beg you! I don't want to die!"

"Don't you worry about that, we won't do that... we'll still give you a chance to prove yourself. I know you're in a foreign situation and you're scared, but we aren't the evil monsters you think we are... we don't do all of this just for pleasure. We do it because it's what we have to do." 

Petalite simply stared at her, unconvinced. The Gem let out a small sigh and then a chuckle.

"Oh, where are my manners? Call me Iolite. I'm one of the Commanders of our group. Pleased to meet you in person, Petalite."

Hearing her name leave Iolite's lips made her feel uneasy. It was like it didn't belong there; Petalite felt shivers crawling down her skin, but did her best not to let her feelings show through. She didn't want to be there.

"So, um... Iolite... how is this test thing going to work?"

"Right, the test. It will be very simple... I'm sure that you've already been through worse. It'll be an evaluation to measure your abilities in many different areas, such an intelligence and strength. Then, after that, based on your performance, we'll check and see whether or not you are deserving to be one of our members. Do you accept it?"

Did she even have a choice? Victory wasn't guaranteed, but at least she had a chance. If she refused, she would be dead or worse. 

Everything was so normal earlier that day... why did everything had to change?

"Y-yes. I accept it."

"Good. In this case... let the tests begin."


	2. Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petalite finishes going through the tests, and almost dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's lots of Chromite in this chapter, so you already know....... oof--

The petalite was lying on the ground on her back, her right cheek pressed against the floor. Sitting over her legs was Chromite, to prevent any movements or escape attempts; not that the other Gem was crazy enough to try doing something given the situation. Chromite stared at her gemstone, exposed through the cleavage on the back of her suit.

"You're just so small... I could crush you so easily. Right here. Right now."

She felt shudders coming from under her, and snickered. She missed being able to do these things to someone else; and since they had just obtained such a large number of petalites, nobody would even notice if she borrowed one of them. And if they did, she didn't care for the consequences. She had been the one who brought them back, anyway.

The petalite started whimpering, while making feeble attempts to put herself in a more comfortable position. In response to that, Chromite grabbed her wrists and held them down against the ground, triggering a small yelp from her victim.

"Oh, what's the matter, wimp? Not having fun yet?" she taunted, getting close to the petalite's face. Seeing her fear both pleasured and infuriated Chromite: she adored feeling powerful and exercising that power over someone, but at the same time she abhorred any kind of weakness. Either way, that sight only made her want to hurt that Gem more. "Let me try something new, then."

Chromite grabbed the petalite's arm and pulled it, pressing it against her back; she cried out in pain and then bit her lip, continuing to whine as quietly as she could. By now, Chromite had already gotten too annoyed by the lack of reaction save from crying, and grabbed the petalite's body, turning her around and slamming her against the floor.

"Listen here, _wuss_. I'm not playing with you. There's no way you're getting out of this situation, so your best option is to entertain me long enough for me to keep you alive for that time... or I could just shatter you right here. I don't really mind." she snapped, grasping the petalite's suit and shaking her back and forth.

"N-no... no, no, please, wait!" the petalite spoke for the first time, wrapping her small hands around Chromite's left hand, which was holding her clothes. "D-don't kill me... I'll d-do a-anything. We... can do a negotiation... n-nobody needs to get h-hurt..."

"Well, too bad, weakling. Because all I want to do now is hurt you."

Chromite lifted her right hand, preparing it for a punch, and the petalite helplessly cowered in fear, trying to avoid the inevitable; but as soon as the hit was about to connect, there was a noise from behind them, as the door opened. Chromite sighed and lowered her arm, glaring at Albite.

"What are you doing?" Albite asked with disgust on her expression.

"Come back later, will you? Can't you see I'm busy here?" Chromite retorted.

"It doesn't matter. You have a job to do... you'll need to fight someone for her evaluation. So just... stop whatever you're doing right now and come on."

Eyeing the scene one last time, Albite shook her head in disapproval and stepped out of view. Chromite sighed, putting the petalite down and getting up.

"Well, you heard her, skank. We'll need to take a small break now. But don't get used to it... I'll be back later, and we'll continue from when we left off."

Chromite then left the room and banged the door shut, leaving the shaking petalite by herself.

* * *

So far all the tests had been easy. They had been all about Petalite's knowledge on Gem history and characteristics, and her ability on using, fixing and building gadgets, both of which were necessary for her job and were things she had been doing for many years, ever since she was created. Eventually, Albite had arrived to take her to the location where the last test would take place, and Petalite happily followed her, perhaps too convinced because of the previous tests.

"So, what's this last test going to be? I'm ready for everything!" Petalite said, barely able to contain her excitement.

"It'll be a test to measure your physical strength. More specifically, a fight."

Petalite swallowed. She was ready for _almost_ everything. A fight was probably the only thing on the list of things she wasn't prepared for. The two stopped in front of a door in a corridor, and Albite stood still outside, by the door.

"Wait... you aren't coming in? It's not you I'm going to fight?" Petalite asked in dismay.

"No. I'm only here to make sure everything goes smoothly." She traced a circle with her fingers, summoning a screen that showed the inside of a large room. "I'll be watching from outside, but I won't intervene no matter what. Your opponent is inside... all you have to do is keep up the fight until one of you falls, then it's over. There are no rules or limitations, just do whatever you want. Good luck."

Again, Petalite swallowed, and pushed the door. Coming inside and closing it, she let out a gasp of surprise seeing Chromite inside, whose eyes widened at her sight. Seemed like none of them had been informed about details of the fight, and Petalite wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.

"Oh, look who it is... that one funny Petalite I met earlier. This must be one of the tricks of fate... making us fight against each other." Chromite summoned her axe and put its cable over her shoulder. 

"Wait... b-before we start, there's a piece of information I'd like to have. Is... is this safe? I mean, you aren't going to fight actually seriously, are you? You're not going to try killing me? H-has anyone ever died with this?"

"Hm... shattering is not the main objective of this, of course. But that doesn't mean I'll try and hold back. Basically, I'm not going to actively be trying to shatter you, as much as I want it, but if I do, then it doesn't matter."

There was no denying it, Petalite was terrified. She began to quickly scan the room with her eyes; if she had a physical disadvantage, she needed something else to give her superiority. There was a pile of metal boxes with handles on the sides on the corner, some bars on the other, pieces of tinted glass... nothing useful, at least not at first sight.

"So, anything you'd like to tell me before we start? These could be your last words, so be careful with what you say."

"N... no. I don't think so... there's nothing I'd like to say."

Just after she finished her sentence, Chromite started sprinting towards her, axe in hand; as soon as she processed what was happening, Petalite threw herself on the floor, just before the weapon hit the ground on the exact place she was previously standing at, cracking it. She didn't even have time to stop and think after that, as once again Chromite swung her axe at her, and Petalite rolled away, barely able to move because of the shock; Petalite contracted her legs closer to the rest of her body on the last second before they were chopped off, also managing to sit up.

She already knew what was coming next, so she didn't wait and simply got up and ran away from Chromite. There wasn't much space for her to run freely, probably because the room was designed for a real face-to-face fight, so Petalite only ran in circles while attempting her best to make her mind work again and think of a plan, _anything_.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Stop running away, come here and fight like a real Gem!" She heard Chromite yelling behind her, only stressing her further.

Petalite made the mistake of slipping on the ground, and ended up falling and rolling for few more seconds after that; she dragged her body across the floor to get up, but before she could, Chromite closed one of her fists around her wrist. The grasp was so tight, and Petalite's arm was so naturally skinny (especially if compared to Chromite's), that she just expected it to be destroyed on the spot. Chromite pulled her, lifting her up in front of her, and Petalite shook her legs kicking the air and squealing.

"Now I got you, you feisty little..." Chromite started, now holding Petalite by her torso, before being abruptly interrupted.

All of a sudden, Petalite started swinging her arms up and down on Chromite's face like noodles, slapping her nonstop. Shock was her main advantage there, as her slaps weren't too effective against someone as strong and durable as Chromite, and when she felt like the other Gem as about to retaliate, she finished it on a punch right on the eye. Immediately, Chromite growled in dissatisfaction and released her suddenly, grabbing her eye. Petalite needed somewhere she could stay to recover her composure, somewhere where she would not be affected by Chromite; she turned to the pile of boxes in the corner and ran towards it.

It was risky, but staying down there with an enraged Chromite was certain death, so Petalite began to climb the tower, holding on to the handles and stepping on them, going up. When she heard a furious snarl coming from behind her, she knew; Chromite was no longer stunned, and worse than ever.

"I'm right here, you big dumb pebble! Come catch me if you can!" Petalite taunted, her voice and hands shaking; maybe from there she could use the things around against Chromite.

Thinking she was already high enough to be safe proved itself to be a mistake, as right after that, Petalite felt a tug on her left leg, then on both of them. She turned her head around to catch a glimpse of Chromite trying to pull her down, and she was only able to hold on to the tower because of the weight of the boxes.

"Oh, when I get my hands on you, I'll make you regret ever being created! I'll torture you until you beg me to stop, I'll crack your gem open and leave you to die slowly... I'll crush you with my very own hands!"

As Chromite pulled her harder, Petalite found her hands starting to slip away from the handle; she pulled it closer, and her eyes widened in terror as she saw all the metal boxes coming down on her direction at once; in a last-second and almost involuntary choice, she let go of everything and her feet connected against Chromite's face, so she used it as a support platform to jump to the side, away from the impact. She fell on the ground, and it hurt a lot, but soon after she heard the loud noises caused by the boxes falling on the ground and breaking, and was thankful.

Petalite got up and shortly after the dust went down, Chromite got up, throwing many of the now-smashed boxes away from her. She approached Petalite, looking down at her with an unreadable expression, and Petalite looked up at her with an apprehensive expression.

"As much as I want to kill you right now, I have to admit that was really good. Maybe you're not that much of a weakling as I had thought." Chromite said, making Petalite's eyes widen in surprise.

Chromite then grinned and let out a loud, boisterous laugh, slamming her open hand on Petalite's shoulder (almost tearing it off in the process), greatly startling her; Petalite forced herself to laugh, awkwardly, as she sweat, still in fear. 

"Hahaha... so... you're not going to kill me?" she asked.

"No, no, I won't. At least, not now. It'd be a shame if I had to... I have a whole new level of respect for you, shorty." Chromite put her hand on Petalite's head, tousling her hair completely. "You're still a loser, though."

Before Petalite could protest, Albite walked into the room.

"You two are done here, I see. Now, Petalite, I need you to come with me so we can finish your evaluation." she said, and Petalite approached her, as all she wanted was to stay away from Chromite already.

* * *

"I've got to say I'm impressed with your results," Iolite said, with her elbows on the table and her hands cupping her face. "I expected a great performance, but you exceeded my expectations. Congratulations."

Petalite blushed, and felt a smile forming on her lips; as much as she tried to keep a serious expression, it didn't go away from how much happiness she had.

"So you mean I can be part of the Elementals?" she asked, excited.

"For sure you can. But for that, you'll need to know everything about our policies. Albite will be your guide, so go outside and meet her." Iolite replied.

"Okay! I'll get going then, thanks!" Petalite chirped and jumped out of the chair, before leaving the room. As expected, Albite was standing outside, by the door. 

"So, we're comrades now... makes me glad to have someone new around. The same old faces end up getting boring after some time... I'm sure you understand, considering your case was even more extreme." Albite said, with a small smile. "...Anyway. I'm going to be showing you around, and explaining you everything you need to know to be an efficient worker to us."

They started walking away from Iolite's room, back to the more full and populated parts of the ship.

"I knew you were going to win," Albite said suddenly after some time of silence.

"Excuse me?" Petalite stared up at her, confused.

"Before you even started fighting Chromite, I already suspected you would win. There is no doubt she is one of our strongest guards, perhaps even the strongest, and way stronger than _you_... but you're smart. You think before you act. And still, you are so unpredictable that it amazes me... I was so curious to see how would you get out of that situation, and you didn't fail to surprise me. That strategy was something that not even I would be able to think of."

Petalite chose to stay quiet and keep the fact that she improvised the whole plan on the last second to herself. They kept walking until they reached a corridor with window-like glass panels on the walls, and Albite stopped in front of them. Standing on the tip of her feet, Petalite was able to see that behind the glass, were many other Gems of all kinds working, assembling pieces together and creating different machines.

"As a member, you'll have to work for us. Considering where you came from, this won't be much change for you... it'll be easy." she said, and started walking away with Petalite running to join her. "Our goal is to just reunite as much knowledge as we can, and as such, we are exploring as many places as we can. We might send you on missions too, so don't be surprised... though we'll probably send a escort with you."

Petalite said nothing, only absorbing all that information.

"Here, come inside." Albite opened a door, and Petalite came inside. It was a large room with lots of tables on both her sides, and Gems working everywhere; Albite came in and closed the door. "To work, we have both common rooms, where everyone works together, and individual rooms to those who deserve it the most. Because of your high scores on the test, you won your own room, so later I'll be showing it to you." Hearing those words, Petalite blushed, and suppressed a scream of happiness.

A Pearl carrying a few items passed by them, with Petalite eyeing her for the entire time; then the Pearl placed everything she was carrying in one of the tables before leaving through the door on the other side of the room. Petalite stepped closer to Albite.

"A question... are Pearls able to just move as they please, this independently, here? This makes me a little uncomfortable." she mumbled as discreetly as she could.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, they are by no means free. They are just serving us." Albite started. "Like I told you, we are a group of scientists, so we mostly employ intelligent and efficient Gems to work for us. However, there are other types of jobs that can be useful to us, such as those of Pearls and Zircons. We hire the Pearls as general helpers, but depending on someone's status, they can get their personal Pearl... like Iolite."

"So if I work hard I can get my own Pearl?"

"Yes, but only if you get promoted to a Commander. You do have potential, but more as a scientist than a Commander, so I doubt that would happen. However, if you need, we may be able to provide you with an assistant to help you with certain types of labor." she explained. "But trust me, don't rely too much on them. If your work is such that we can replace you with a servant, you're useless to us as a member. We have very high expectations for you, and we don't want anything but perfection. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Y-yes, I do."

"Good." Albite stared at one of the tables, where two Gems seemed to be struggling with a weapon. "Come here for a second, Petalite." The two of them approached the table, and the Gems glanced at Petalite with curiosity before shifting all their attention to Albite. "Can you tell me what's the problem here?"

"We're... having some difficulty assembling all those pieces. We don't know where which one would go to achieve maximum productivity..." one of the Gems said.

"I see. Petalite, why don't you try it? This would be a good opportunity for us to see your abilities in a real situation."

"Uh, sure." Thankfully the table was low enough for Petalite to be able to look at its top comfortably, and she started examining the pieces.

Albite and the two other Gems kept their distance, watching her from afar, with Albite being the most expectant one of all of them.

"Albite, who's that? And why did you ask her to go and work on that?" 

"That is a Petalite we got from a colony earlier. She already went through the evaluation and she was able to pass as a member... she has lots of potential." Albite explained, not taking her eyes off Petalite as she experimented with all the pieces. "Just wait a minute. She'll figure out this puzzle soon enough."

Just as predicted, soon after that, Petalite wielded the now-completed and perfectly functional weapon, firing small shots on a dart board nearby. Smiling, she turned back to Albite and the other Gems.

"She really fixed it... I'm impressed, but I guess you'd expect that from a Gem who was created just for doing this kind of thing. They're smart... it makes me kind of jealous." said one of the Gems who had been previously working on the weapon.

"Well, Petalites aren't naturally intelligent. In fact, when they first emerge, some of them are less knowledgeable than the average Gem." Albite declared, catching the Gems' attention. "The reason why they are able to work so well is the fact that they are able to associate and learn things fast. They can understand what they have to do simply by seeing others do it, and they can learn how to work just by trying and thinking about it. Their capacity to be learn new things is their real strength... that's why a Petalite is one of the worst enemies you can make despite her lack of physical strength. She will learn from her mistakes, and she will use your own advantages against you."

Petalite ran over to them, still with a big proud smile all over her face.

"Well, that was easy! If everything is just like this from now on, it'll be great!" she exclaimed happily. "And I even get to test the things I construct! Back at the colony, I could only fix it and then it was immediately sent away... but I can keep them now!"

"Yes, of course you can. Now, accompany me, I'll be taking you to your room."

The Gems around them widened their eyes in shock that that one cheeky small newbie had already earned her own room. Some grimaced in jealousy, but eventually went back to doing their own things. Petalite herself didn't even notice, in her eagerness to get to her room. As soon as Albite opened the door when they got there, she jumped inside, quickly turning to every part of the room to examine it; it was the most alluring thing she had ever laid her eyes on, with lots of shelves and material, and a table, and a screen, and everything she could ever wish for!

"So, is it of your liking?" asked Albite.

"It's... stunning! Everything here is so graceful, magnificent, and..." Realizing she was screaming, Petalite recovered her stern composure and coughed once, changing her expression. "Well, it is certainly a very adequate place for me to perform my duties... it seems comfortable."

"I'm delighted to see you appreciate it." Albite walked over to the table and pointed at some piles of books over it. "Here we have a more detailed manuscript and documents about our organization and the knowledge we have obtained so far. There is also a map here to aid you and prevent you getting lost around the ship. I suggest you carry it on your person at least until you have a better understanding of the ship's locations."

"Right. I'll do that then. And I'll also read the books."

"In this case, I'll be leaving you alone for now. If there's anything you need, just use your communicator, the screen. I assume you know how to use it, and if you don't, it won't be hard for you to learn. Excuse me... and good luck, Petalite."

As soon as Albite closed the door and Petalite stopped hearing her footsteps, her smile instantly came back to her face and she started jumping, muffling her laughter with her hands; she ran around the room, touching (and hugging) everything, leafing through the books, testing the screen...

After finally having run out of energy and more things to explode, she lied down on the center of the room, never having felt that much happiness in her life before. _That_ was what she deserved. What she had wanted since the start.


	3. Interactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petalite interacts with comrades, and also, with someone she didn't think would be so special to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally the end!!!! this chapter is waaaay shorter than the rest since I didn't have anymore ideas. Enjoy!!

As much as she already adored her room, Petalite had already spent over 20 hours in there, and there were probably more interesting things to do outside. So, taking the map, she decided to go to one of the common rooms to work, and of course, check on everyone's progress. But just after she took one step out of her room, she left her wrist being seized by something and turned on that direction.

Chromite. She should have expected it.

"Hey, hey, what's this now? Mind telling me where are you going?" she asked, with the usual grin that was starting to irk Petalite.

"Where else could I be going? To work." Petalite replied and tried to pull her arm back, but Chromite didn't let go.

"So you think that just because you're one of the Elementals you can talk to me whatever way you want? That's not how it works. You're a feisty little one." Chromite said, her tone now more akin to a growl than a curious one. "You don't need to do any of that right now. Just come with me."

"I... really have to go. Perhaps after I'm done--"

The grip on her wirst was tightened, making Petalite freeze with fear. For every second that passed, it was turning more and more uncomfortable, and it didn't take much for her to understand she didn't have a choice. Either she went with Chromite peacefully and against her will, or she would have her arm destroyed under her wrath, and either way forced to go, against her will.

"A... alright. I'll go with you..." Petalite gave in, voice shaking. "Can... can I have my hand back now?"

"Of course you can, why not?" she purposely said this in order to affect Petalite. Petalite knew this, Chromite knew that she knew, and Petalite also knew that, and so did Chromite, and the more she thought about it, it became worse. They started walking away. "Makes me glad to see you want to spend some time with me willingly. I'd never force you to do anything you didn't want to."

"Sure you wouldn't."

Chromite led her to a room, an empty one. Both of them sat on the floor, next to each other.

"That fight we had some time ago was a great one. But thinking about it, I realized that you were actually a dirty little cheater back then... you barely actually fought." Chromite started, and Petalite couldn't even tell if she was just mocking her or actually angry. "I wonder what would happen if we had a rematch. Right here, right now, in this empty room, with nothing for you to use against me. I wonder how much time it'd take for you to be crushed."

Petalite glanced at the door and slowly inched away from Chromite. If anything happened, she wanted to make sure she'd have time to bolt out. But then Chromite burst into laughter and slapped the ground, probably making up the fight on her head; Petalite forced herself to giggle in response. She didn't want to be here, but most importantly, she didn't want to get on Chromite's bad side. She had already seen what she had done.

"Look at you, with those glasses... you look like a nerd." Chromite said, and laughed more as Petalite adjusted her protection glasses.

"A 'nerd'? What's a nerd? Please, elaborate." Petalite asked, naive.

"A nerd is _you_ ," Chromite replied. Petalite gritted her teeth; that didn't help her to understand. "Come on, pass me those. Let me try them on."

Not giving Petalite time to react, Chromite seized the glasses and put them on herself. She then lifted up three fingers and shoved them on Petalite's face.

"Can you see? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three fingers." Petalite replied, dispiriting Chromite, who probably expected an answer like one, five or eight. "I am perfectly capable of seeing without my glasses. Their only purpose is to protect my eyes, because since I work with assembling and disassembling pieces, there are high chances that something could damage--"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't care." Chromite took off the glasses and threw them over her shoulder. "You can have those back, they're stupid anyway."

Petalite ran behind her and grabbed the glasses before they hit the ground, putting them back on.

"Thanks." she mumbled. 

"You're... really boring, aren't you? I expected more from you... I don't even know why. You know what... scram, wimp. If you're not gonna entertain me, you have no reason to be here. Leave."

As much as Petalite was glad that was all over, she was still disappointed about how anti-climactic it was. And she didn't appreciate the idea of getting shoved off the room like a servant by Chromite, either. But what really mattered was that she was now free, and started heading to the common room before Chromite changed her mind and made her come back to do whatever.

Anyways, she arrived at the common room and claimed a table for herself with no problems. Everyone around already seemed to know how gifted she was already, and they actually showed her respect! That was all she had always wanted, and even hough she hadn't spent that much time there, she already preferred everything on this new life than in her old life.

"Hello, Petalite, it's nice to see you here," someone said, and Petalite turned around to see Albite standing by her side. "But there isn't anything wrong with your room, is there?"

"No, certainly not. Everything's perfect! I just wanted to explore the ship and decided to start working here... but the privacy of my room is better for working indeed."

"I see. It's my duty to make sure everything is going on smoothly here, so it makes me glad to see you've adapted well. If you ever need anything, just tell me." Petalite nodded, and Albite stared at her for a while before letting out a small chuckle. "So you're officially one of us now." She pointed to Petalite's new uniform.

Petalite simply nodded and started going back to her work, but saw something blurry on the top of her vision. Lifting her head, she took sight of a rather peculiar scene going on outside, through the glass; two large Gems, around the same height as Chromite, were restraining and transporting another Gem, one holding each of her arms. The prisoner was trying her best to struggle and break free from her captors, but it was clear she was too weak for that. For one second, the prisoner and Petalite locked eyes, and startled and blushing, Petalite looked down.

"Umm... excuse me!" Petalite exclaimed and jumped out of her chair, running to the exit door and going outside to where the guards were carrying the Gem. "H-hey! What's going on here?!" she screamed with a voice crack, spreading her arms for more emphasis. 

"We were taking this prisoner to evaluation, but she just refuses to do as she is told." one of the guards said with a frown, watching as the Gem fought more. "It's a real shame, but guess she'll become just another power source."

"I-I already told you to let me go! Why are you doing this? You've already ruined so many lives, just stop!" the prisoner said with clear anger, but a bit of desperation on her voice.

That scene, of that miserable Gem trying to fight for her life, aroused something in Petalite, something coming from inside. She didn't know that Gem, and considering what was happening, she never would. Her living, dying or being an energy source wouldn't change anything on her life; that was what the Elementals did, wasn't it? And she was an Elemental now. She needed to get used to seeing, and even _doing_ that kind of thing, or else she would just be marked as defective and useless and would suffer from it herself. Now, it was either her or others. She didn't have a choice...

"A-ah, u-um... w-wait!" Petalite yelled out before the guards had a chance to leave, and they turned to her waiting for an answer. She didn't know what to say, she didn't even know why she had said that! She just didn't want them to go and take that Gem! "I... uh..."

"Petalite. Is everything alright?" asked Albite as she approached her. Suddenly an idea struck Petalite; the perfect idea!

"No! But it'll be soon!" she replied, smiling. "You told me I could choose an assistant for myself, yes? Well, here we have the perfect subject!" Petalite pointed at the prisoner Gem, and was surprised to see a hint of shock and betrayal on her eyes instead of gratitude, but that didn't stop her. "Her stubborness and refusal to take the evaluation tests makes her virtually useless to us. But she could be my servant! We don't need to waste a Pearl for that or anything!"

Albite glanced at her and then at the prisoner. She then sighed and nodded.

"I don't see why would you want such a thing, but I don't see any harm on it either. Do as you please."

"Hahaha, yes!" Petalite cheered, while the guards sighed and left in disappointment. She approached the now-free prisoner. "So, what's your name, servant?"

"Copal." she responded through gritted teeth.

"Copal? Nice! Sounds kinda fitting, for a servant, don't you think? Hahaha!" Petalite laughed, while Copal clenched her hands into fists.

"Anyway. If she gives you trouble, Petalite, don't hesitate to contact me about it and I'll take the matters into my own hands." Albite glared at Copal. "I'll leave you alone now."

And so, Albite left, and the two of them were now alone.

"Okay... now come on. I'll take you to my room. This is the place you'll stay at the most from now on, so you better get to know it, don't you think? Hehe!" Petalite said, and starting going on the direction of her room, with Copal reluctantly following behind her.

As Petalite walked, she concluded: life was now good. Now she had everything she wished for and deserved, and finally others had recognized who she truly was.

She wasn't willing to let anyone or anything take that away from her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this whole story :3

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING :3


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